Patty.(Faculty Matters)

In 2003, a professor of nursing was selected as a U.S. Professor of the Year by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Patty J. Hale, PhD, RN, FNP,, is the first nursing professor to receive this prestigious award. Nominated by her college, Lynchburg College, Lynchburg, Virginia, she was one of about 400 nominees rated on their contributions to undergraduate education, a scholarly approach to teaching and learning, their impact on and involvement with undergraduates, and recommendations from colleagues and current and former students. A lengthy review process resulted in four honorees.

Lynchburg College has a small undergraduate baccalaureate program, which averages 25 students per year. Patty teaches throughout the program: health assessment to sophomores, community health nursing and mental health nursing to seniors, and an interdisciplinary course on environmental health to freshmen. In addition, she volunteers her nursing and family nurse practitioner skills to neighborhood centers and Head Start programs as well as other agencies in the community. Her service involvement allows her to take students to clinical sites where she would otherwise not be able to take them, either through serving as a preceptor herself, or through working with agency staff who then serve as preceptors to students.

Patty emphasizes that it is critical to spend time with students outside the classroom. "Teaching at its best is 'holistic,' focusing on the intellect as well as other aspects of the student as person." Pointing to the need to "touch the emotional and spiritual spheres of those we teach," she observes that this is especially true in nursing, where students must deal with the emotional and spiritual aspects of their patients. "Nurses deal with ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. To do so effectively, students must first learn about themselves and their own …